Harston Swaps - March 2016

Belated happy new year to everyone!  After a late start and  family visits over I now have time to update the blog with the latest swaps at our craft club.

 Here is my swap, it is on a 5 x 7" canvas board using the large Tim Holtz butterfly die, with embossing folder to bring out all the detail.  I have used a spoon for the body covered in a painted strip of Tyvek then heated, this curls the edges which I touched with gilding paste.

 

 

I created several of these boards which could be used for journal covers for last year when a group of our lovely forum members from Cardmaking Paradise met up for a workshop here in Harston, we usually exchange a little something at these events. The following is a photo of all the boards.

Liz produced a fantastic swap with this intricate box which opens out to display several trays, wonderful Liz!

 

 

 

 

Annie went to town with these strips of tickets, which I was lucky to swap with her.  They are great and so handy to attach to different crafts.  But will I use them or just look at them mmmm?

Pamela had fun with this treasure box, so much detail, absolutely fantastic.

 

 

Annie also decorated this treasure box for the February swap, but unfortunately she was the only one that brought along a swap, so I have included it with this months swap. It is a very steampunk design with nuts and bolts all over and inside a lovely surprise of mdf pieces to use.

 

 

That is all for March, back soon with April swap, until then....

 

 

 

Mixed Media Christmas Tree Canvas Workshop and Swap - November

Wow the last few weeks have vanished and I am late blogging

all about the great day we had last month creating a double sided 8" sq canvas. 

Here is my canvas provided as a guide, templates included in the kit for a single large tree

or 3 smaller trees plus everything needed for this project.  

I used lots of different embellishments.

Old broken jewellery, charms, metal flowers,

air dry clay images from molds, buttons and beads.

Once the glue dried, everything covered with black gesso.

Highlighted with gilding paste.

When complete I added red gems in some of the crevices.

Our lovely members hard at work completing the front of their canvases. 

Lots of different uses of the templates. 

A few canvases waiting for the glue to dry with the help of the radiator.

 

The end of a super day with lovely crafting friends.

 



and once again for the back view..

Where is your reindeer Jane????

My apologies to Pamela for cutting you off the photo xxx

 



We managed to find time for two people to do a swap,

unfortunately the rest of us forgot all about it.

 

Pamela decorated this suitcase with amazing faux leather

texture such attention to detail.

 

 

 

Liz has achieved a wonderful texture and

finished with a selection of flowers.

 

 

This was our last meeting for this 2015, we are now looking forward

to next February to meet up and start crafting.

 

Oh and I finally finished the canvas I started at the workshop it is on 

a 10"sq box canvas  this time with only one large tree. 

I have given it to my daughter to place

on her windowsill this Christmas, it can then be viewed from both sides.

 

 

and the back....

 

 

Merry Christmas to you all that might stumble upon this blog

Good wishes for the New Year

Until next time...

October Harston Club Swap

Great swap this month, though only between Annie and I.

We also caught up with our crafty chat

I stamped and painted santa hats to use on my cards.

 

I have had no time to craft during September as my darling daughter

was admitted to critical care unit with pneumonia and blood

poisoning. Within hours into an induced coma, then dialysis. They treated

her for Legionnaires Disease.  For two weeks it was critical, but am happy to

say she is home now and slowly recovering.

 

This closely followed with my dear husband going into hospital a week

ago for a hip replacement, he too is doing well and needing a lot of TLC xx

 

Here is my door hanger (made a while back and lucky to have it to hand for this swap).

 I stamped the main image onto tissue

paper and glued it to the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annie decorated this tiny Paper Mache suitcase, with wonderful flowers

and framed image. Finished inside with decorative papers.  Smashing Annie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We meet for the final time next month (this year) when I will run

a Christmas Canvas Workshop, so will take lots of photos

of the busy crafting ladies and their finished pieces.

Until next time....

 

 



September Harston Craft Swaps

Well our crafty members certainly rose to the challenge

this month, using just a small box frame

they have produced creative fabulous altered art pieces.

 

This is my swap, all the elementsI used are formed

from air dry clay, painted brown and

highlighted with acrylic silks.

 

 

Liz has mounted the box onto a board,

so much to look at. Each section papered with

decorative papers, absolutely smashing creative art work.

 

 

 

Pamela has decorated the background of each section

with lovely tiles using air dry clay.  Adding

her decorative embossed elements, gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

 

Annie has used the box as a base to add

all the wonderful coloured flowers, butterflies and die cuts as

embellishments to go beyond the base, fabulous!

 

 

 

 

Fabulous swaps, now looking forward to next month, these

are the items I provided to choose from I

took the pic looking into the bag they were in.

 

 

Until next time...

 

 

 

 



 



August Harston Swaps and Mixed Media Heart Workshop

The swap this month was in fact a delayed

swap from the previous month between

Liz and Jane who were unable to attend in July. 

We did not have a general swap as we

had the Heart workshop plus I did not provide

items for the swap last month, very naughty of me to forget.

The first swap is a fabulous box that Liz decorated

using her own stamp (Elizabeth Borer) designs.

 

also decorated on the inside with gorgeous papers.

 

 

Here is a Extra Large Peg that Jane decorated

with a wonderful image. Both sides have the same lovely image.

Now onto our heart workshop, using the same methods as in the June workshop

we covered the canvas with white gesso, adding strips of lace and

random areas of embossing paste through stencils. 

 

A template was provided for the heart shape, Liz decided to use an oval shape

for hers. I provided all the supplies such as metal flowers, beads, charms,

wooden and clay embellishments and die cuts plus a host of extras if required

though I would guess that everyone had enough supplies to make another canvas.

 

Annie and Linda have finished their canvases,

more work to do on the others.

 

 

 

Annie
 

 

Liz

 

Linda

 

 

Below are the items I provided for the September swap.

They are just a few of the trays that I have accumulated when

purchasing the small wooden embellishments for workshops mostly.

Looking forward to seeing how everyone fills these mini trays.



June Meet Up with Cardmaking Paradise Forum Friends

A rather belated post to share our Mixed Media Heart Canvas Workshop that

I ran in June for a group of ladies on the

Cardmaking Paradise forum

Sara led our second day with several craft techniques.

We enjoyed two days of crafting helped by wedges

of scrummy home made cakes (thanks ladies)

lashings of lunchtime food along with my home made Soda Bread

that seemed to go down well. 

Not forgetting relaxing in the evening over lovely meals

to enable us to recover.

We had great fun with a canvas, junk and lots of embellishments.

Looking forward to doing it all again next year!!!!

 

 

This is my completed work to use as a guide for everyone.

 

now residing in my grand daughter Amber's bedroom

 

 

Everyone working hard and concentrating

 

 

 

Here are other canvases I finished using the Heart theme.

 

Given to my grandson Jay

Hanging in our dining room

 

For my daughter Allison

 

 

 

More coming up on Harston Club August swap and our own

Heart Canvas Workshop.